Team Arrow Continues Without the Arrow in “Left Behind” 

What does a sailboat do when it doesn’t have a sail? Well, I’m no nautical expert, so I don’t actually know the answer to that, but I think it probably looks a bit like Team Arrow without the Arrow. Don’t get me wrong, I still loved watching Diggle, Roy and Felicity attempt to take down the bad guys, but without Oliver, they stumbled, stuttered and overall failed more than they succeeded.

I don’t consider this any fault of their own, after all, Diggle looked so incredibly bad ass sliding under that truck and going after Brick in the warehouse, right? But without their rudder, they don’t have anything to point them in the right direction. And unfortunately, they know it. As Roy pointed out, playing stand-ins for Oliver isn’t the same as headlining the show.

Roy: Doing this while without him while we’re waiting for him to come back is one thing. But doing all this without him without him, that’s a whole other situation.

So, what is that situation exactly? Well, as far as I can tell, it doesn’t look too promising for Team Arrow. I mean, Diggle and Roy were this close to not making it out of the warehouse alive…honestly, there was one point where Brick was pummeling Diggle that I definitely thought things were about to take a turn for the worst, so when we found out that Felicity was the one who closed the door in an attempt to save her friends, I could hardly blame her.

I mean, we’ve never seen them in a situation quite so sticky. Regardless of how out-manned, out-gunned or out-powered they’ve been in the past, I’ve always felt that in some way, shape or form, Oliver had the upper hand and a way to escape. But in this case, I wasn’t so sure about Diggle and Roy. That being said, the bad guys did get away (and now intend to wreak havoc and take over the entire Glades as a result) so I can see why Diggle and Roy might be a little upset with Felicity. After all, who wants to admit that they can’t hold down the fort on their own? Nevertheless, it was in this scene that things came to a head and we got Felicity’s take on the future of Team Arrow.

Roy: If that door hadn’t shut, we would’ve had him.

Diggle: It’s just our bad luck. Unless it wasn’t.

Felicity: You were pinned down, you both were. They were gonna kill you.

Diggle: Felicity.

Roy: You did that?

Felicity: They had machine guns. You had a bow and arrow.

Roy: You let them get away?

Felicity: I saved your lives.

Diggle: Felicity, it wasn’t your call to make.

Felicity: It wasn’t my call to let Oliver go to challenge Ra’s Ah Gul to a fight to the death either

Roy: Brick has who knows how much evidence, Felicity.

Felicity: And it was either that or the two of you, my friends being killed. So I made my choice. I chose not to let anyone else I care about die.

Diggle: We’ve been in tough spots before and we’ve always managed to come out on the other side

Felicity: No, Oliver did. But he’s not here anymore, because he’s dead.

Diggle: Okay, point is, if we’re gonna do this without Oliver, Felicity, we have to trust each other.

Felicity: You don’t get it, there is no “this” without him. It’s done. I’m done.

Obviously I don’t think this is the end, but I still found it so interesting to see each characters’ reason for the fighting and how they process the loss of their leader. It drives Diggle to want to press on and continue to fight Oliver’s fight in his honor. Whereas it throw Felicity for a loop, making her feel like she’s lost control and that she doesn’t want to fight a fight she can’t win. Honestly, I can’t blame either of them. Everyone deals with grief differently and I can see both of their angles. Do you tie yourself to a potentially losing horse just to keep playing in hopes you can overcome the odds or do you cut your losses?

Despite Diggle’s steadfast determination to push on, I still love that we still got a quick glimpse of how Oliver’s “death” is affecting him. It may have been to Laurel, a totally unexpected source, but it was still interesting to see straight-forward attempt to tell Laurel about Oliver’s fate turn in to a truly heartfelt revelation.

Diggle: He’s not coming back. Oliver. I know you don’t want to believe it, Laurel. God knows I don’t. But he’s not coming back.

Laurel: Are you? Are you coming back?

Diggle: I don’t know. For the first time since I met Oliver Queen, I don’t know what happens next. I know it’s silly but I still like to think of myself as Oliver’s bodyguard. I just couldn’t protect him.

Don’t get me wrong, I know Arrow needs an Arrow, but I kind of like episodes like this every once in a while that give Diggle a chance to shine. He’s the best bodyguard/sidekick/friend that Oliver could ask for, even if he doesn’t look quite as good in the hood.

Nevertheless, clearly everything will change once Oliver returns. But it will also depend on his mindset after his near death experience as to how the team continues. Can he continue to be the leader he once was and the leader that they need? Only time will tell.

Be sure to catch Arrow next Wednesday at 8/7c on The CW.